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February 28, 2006

Elias

gus_eli_022806.jpg

Introducing Elias Hicks DeVylder!
(Eli for short)

Born February 27th at 5:41pm
8 lbs 2 oz
20 inches

Eli is amazing and doing really well.
More tomorrow, we're home and exhausted.

Posted by janna at 09:27 PM | Comments (13)

February 26, 2006

Here we go, folks

Baby E, we FINALLY get to meet you today. We are so giddy and excited and shocked that we actually know that today IS the day. For those of you who have parented with Nemo in the background, there's a partial quote that comes to mind right now... When the fish in the tank think that today is the day they get to escape, Peach (the talking starfish) says, in the best excited voice EVER, "Today's the DAY! The sun is SHINGING!" (then she goes on to say that the tank is clean, which is exactly the opposite of what they want, and then she is horrified, but I don't need that part right now, I just like the first part.)

I can tell I'm giddy, I'm writing about a cartoon 45 minutes before I leave for the hospital. I digress.

Gus, you should know how much we love you and are excited to bring you a brother. We hope you like each other a little bit. :)

We'll send out an email as soon as we can.

Posted by janna at 08:56 PM | Comments (1)

It's a doozie.

It's Sunday.
I'm having a baby tomorrow.

TOMORROW.

I feel like Baby E is going to have a cone head, poor kid. I think we are both in agreement when we say this symbiotic relationship needs to take the next step. Let's have an external symbiotic relationship. Yes. One without pelvises and a uterus and a cervix to deal with. One where Baby E's legs can TRULY stretch out in their long glory. One where I can once again put my underwear on without falling over. It is time.

The other night, as I was in the midst of my 3,000th contraction, I said, "Oh, this one is a doozie."
Gus was sitting next to me and suddenly said, "Papa doozie too?"
Then he changed his mind.
"No Mama doozie, PAPA doozie."
I happily agreed, said I am more than happy to share in the dooziness of pregnancy and labor. Of course, John said he would happily share, too, but that's the right thing to say...not necessarily how you would really feel if your insides were buckling. I appreciated the sentiment, nonetheless.

My Mom is visiting right now. The thought was that she would be helping out with a three-week old baby. Now she's going to see a newborn. I told her this morning that I thought Baby E was going to weight 7 lbs 13 oz.

She guessed 8 lbs 12 oz.

If I may borrow from my favorite show these days, Grey's Anatomy, I hope for the sake of my va-jay-jay she's wrong.

Posted by janna at 11:40 AM | Comments (2)

February 24, 2006

John's turn

Gus went to daycare today. He was still pretty tired, but he was itching to get out of the house. The fever has been gone, his dependence on breathing treatments has reduced significantly. He basically went to daycare to eat, I think, since he apparently shoveled it away. I swear, he didn't want to eat anything we gave him when he was here, honest. Or maybe I just don't cook as well. That's probably the issue.

While Gus is on the upswing, John has taken a turn and is currently sleeping. The poor guy has caught what Gus has, or some form of it, so he went to the doctor today. While the doctor was not exactly certain what John had, he gave him an antibiotic since we're about to have a newborn come into our lives. He feels like hell and can't believe the timing. But it's us, of course, so I'm not entirely suprised. My Mom and I got really, really sick after Gus came home. It was a blast.

Now we're just wondering if Baby E is going to hold out until Monday. We'll keep you posted...

Posted by janna at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2006

The final countdown... really.

Monday is it.

I went to the doctor this morning. If nothing happens this weekend, I'm going to the hospital on Monday morning at 8 to be induced.

How weird to be able to 'schedule' something like that.

I'm having more contractions today than I have had for a while... maybe all Baby E needs is a deadline to decide he wants to make his own deadline.

?

Posted by janna at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2006

Stay in there a bit longer, E.

Amazing how the tides can turn. One minute I'm WILLING Baby E to come, now I'm BEGGING him to wait. The croup has a hold of Gus, it woke him early this morningt in quite a coughing fit, which really seemed to scare him. Who can blame him, the wracking cough seizes your chest and makes it difficult to get air in.

The breathing treatments do seem to help tremendously. He sits on John's lap as we blast the TV so we can distract him above the small airplane engine sound of the nebulizer, his breathing treatment machine. John holds the mask in front of his face. We're trying to make it fun, calling it the robot, letthig him clean out the parts and pieces after each treatment in the sink. It's a farce, I know, but maybe by the end of this week he'll be holding the mouthpiece by himself. Wishful thinking?

Thank goodness for John. I can't physically pick up Gus right now, have no real lap of which to speak of, and medicine time is definitely a two-person job (this is where I call for a round of applause for all those single parents out there who do it all by themselves).

Gus is asleep right now, even though he woke up about 30 minutes ago with another fit of coughing. He's so so tired, he can't even be tempted by PBS kids shows to come in the living room. I really wanted to get a treatment going, get some new medicine in him, but I can't compete with sleep. Even if it is fitful, he's getting some right now, and that seems to trump it all.

Hey Fever? Hey Cough? Get the heck out of here. You are SO unwelcome right now, you have no idea.

Posted by janna at 06:53 AM | Comments (1)

February 21, 2006

Croupin' it

Poor Gus.

It's the croup, it's come back to haunt Gus during one of the most unpredictable weeks for our family.
He woke up last night wheezing. It scared me to bits. I was ready to go to the hospital...for him, not for me. We finally got him to calm down a bit and to get some good air in. He came into bed with us and tossed and turned for a couple of hours before finally falling asleep. It wasn't restful sleep, however. His feet were by my chin for a spell, his head in the crook of John's elbow. The cough would come and rattle him, upsetting him so. Finally, around 5:45 we said it was time to forget the bed and go downstairs.

During a spell of sleep, I finally dreamt about Baby E being born. Not the labor part, just the fact that he was out of me. Gus woke up (in my dream), saw that I was holding the baby, and he said, "The baby's here!" Gus gave him a big kiss. I noticed that Baby E was breathing like Gus was breathing, and it occured to me, again in my dream, that I forgot to feed Baby E (I almost slipped with his name...I'm so ready!) so I tried to nurse him. I don't think they'll let me forget that part at the hospital, right?

Did I mention the part where Baby E was almost as big as Gus? Ouch.

So John is working from home, I'm working from home, we're filling Gus up with restful movies and playtime. The doctor is having us give Gus breathing treatments 3-4 times a day.

Now, instead of telling Baby E to come right away, I'm telling him to wait a few days, so we can get this croup under control. I don't know if it will work out so nicely.

Posted by janna at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

Water on the brain

I was driving the car as we came home tonight. I had a contraction as I was driving, but was able to keep going without problem (I mean, come on, people...I've been having contractions for five months). A few seconds later, as I was making a turn, I said, "Oh, THAT'S a water break." I pointed out the window at a corner that was covered in ice, obviously from a fire hydrant leaking.

"Janna!" said John.

"What??"

It then occured to me... water break... WATER BREAK...baby....oh, no, I meant the corner, the ice! See the ice?

John initially thought, wow, this really is your second baby. So calm...

Posted by janna at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

Good night!

I'm trying... really I am.

I think we felt Baby E's butt tonight. There really is no more room in there.

Posted by janna at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2006

Of glasses and bbq

In the process of going to work yesterday, let's just say that John had a 'morning'.

As he was taking Gus out of the driver's seat (he decided, for the first time in his little lifte, that he needed to climb in right as we were trying to leave), John hit his head against the door, instantly breaking his glasses at the temple. I thought my trip to work was cancelled, but John persevered after finding his old glasses.

This morning, the three of us (plus baby in the belly) went to the one-hour miracle glasses place to have John's eyes checked and new glasses ordered.

You may make glasses in an hour, oh corporate glasses haven, but it takes oh so much more to get to that point. One hour my a**.

Gus and I somehow successfully, without meltdown, played for 2 1/2 hours in Lenscrafters while John was examined, selected glasses, found out the ones he so meticulously selected would take two weeks to make, found another pair, and ordered glasses. Gus was amazing. Everyone there was shocked at how well he was doing. They didn't even mind that he kept going up to their phones, taking them off their receivers, saying "Hello?" He even climbed into one of the glasses display areas that happened to be empty. I found his mini-loader toy car in an empty glasses slot in one of the glasses trays...by accident. I wasn't even looking for it.

Once the order was placed, we went to Famous Dave's and had some bbq while we waited the true hour to get the glasses. Holy yummy. Baby was so happy. Mama was so happy. Even Gus ate chicken.

We picked up the frames. They are perfect, like John has always had them.

I'm feeling so normal these days, it scares me. Baby E is moving a lot despite the obvious lack of room to move. I'm having contractions stil, but nothing steady and nothing to write to the doctor about. I'm now 9 days away from the due date, about 10 days more pregnant than I expected to be.

Good thing, too. We put up the craddle today. It's right by our bed upstairs...not that we're sleeping up there right now. I want to be as close to the bathroom as possible these nights, so we're taking refuge in the guest room.

As an aside, two lessons we're trying to teach Gus these days:
1. You really don't have to throw everything on the floor. Honest. It may be fun at first, but we are going to make you pick it up.
2. You don't have to have an owie to get a hug and kiss from us. While we love to play along with this game and shower you with some extra soothing care, we are more than happy to give love anytime, without pain involved.

Posted by janna at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

If you're not having a baby...

...you might as well go into work.

Our stair circuit wasn't cutting it.
Walking around the block wasn't doing it.
Why not go into downtown Chicago, walk from the car to work, walk around work and, in the process, scare the bejezus out of people because they have no idea you're coming in.

I have never seen so many incredulous, shocked and surprised looks as I received today. It's like people would see me and then they would REALLY see me. Total double-take. And total confusion.

Wait, did you have the baby and you're back? Then the eyes go down to my belly. No, the belly is still there. Then the eyes go back to my face. You're here?? Should you be here?

Utter confusion.

So much fun!

Listen, if stirring it up at home isn't working, I might as well push it somewhere else.

Wouldn't you know...that I probably didn't have any more contractions downtown than I would have at home. Baby E was moving all over the place as I was chatting with folks, which would make me giggle.

I have to say, stopping the worry about WHEN it is all going to happen has made me feel so much better. To be fair, I think throughout the day both John and I were wondering what the heck we would do if something happend RIGHT there, and I did have a moment where I thought my water was about to pop for some weird reason, but nothing happened. We didn't have to run our fire drill of "get the car and get me to the suburbs asap."

Wouldn't that have been exciting, though?

Posted by janna at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2006

"Nobody cares about me, " he said.

"Everyone keeps asking how you are."

He said this in jest, of course, but really folks... enough about me. Let's talk about John.

John has been to the ob/gyn office enough times to officially say he's "been there, done that."
He's dealt with my food whims.
He's made me laugh so hard I have contractions.
He freaks out if I look at him in any way that might indicate water breaking or "I can feel the baby's head coming"
He tells me that he loves me when I announce that I feel moody, and then asks, "Should I stop talking?"

In short... John is awesome. He's great... and he deserves a round of applause for keeping me going through these last few months.

Enough about John. Let's talk about ME. ME ME ME ME ME.

I think I'm ready to duck back into the halls of non-pregnancy and turn the attention back to the other pregnant ladies and babies. Alas, Baby E is not quite ready for the spotlight. I went to the doctor's office this morning.

Bad news: No significant change.
Good news: She won't let me go more than 41 weeks.

I was 38 weeks yesterday. That means I will have a baby by March 8th. Ummmm...

Baby E, do you have something against February?? I really like this month a lot.

The doctor said I could pick a date next week to be induced, but I really don't want to be induced, no matter how much I want to see Baby E.

I will, as always, keep you posted.

Posted by janna at 12:09 PM | Comments (3)

February 15, 2006

No more guesses

I'm just going to keep on living, not get frustrated, just let it all happen when it will happen because, by God, it has to happen... I'm not an elephant, I'm not going to gestate until December.

Right?

I think I've set up this expectation that I would go early because I went early with Gus...
Oh, and the fact that I'm 3 cm and I feel like I have a bowling ball in my pelvis, that might make me expect to go early, too.

:)

Posted by janna at 10:29 AM | Comments (2)

February 14, 2006

Best night of sleep ever

I have never claimed to understand how the body works. I barely could differentiate a cervix from a potato before I was pregnant. But this labor thing is downright confusing.

I had probably the best night of pregnant sleeping last night.

?

John is working from home now. I've made him sufficiently paranoid enough to do so.

Went for a walk this morning before starting work. Also am doing the stair circuit several times between emails and phone calls.

I'm working it, folks!

Posted by janna at 11:40 AM | Comments (3)

February 13, 2006

we're home

BUT...there is progress.

I eventually fell aslepp around 5:30, woke up a couple of hours later to some more contractions, and we decided to call my doc to see what we should do. We went to the hospital to be put on the monitors and to get checked out, to see what was going on, but alas, the contractions stopped. I think I was finally relaxed enough knowing that Gus was in a good place and we were there and I was mentally ready for it all to happen... and it stopped.

Sigh.

Good news: I'm at 3 cm, so we're getting there.

We were quite the sight, trying to get out of the house this morning. We were able to get Gus fed and dressed and out the door in the best of spirits, all without making him feel rushed (quite a feat as he hates being rushed). We get into the car, push the garage door opener. The door won't open. IT WON'T OPEN. After John manually opens it, he's pulling into the alley and notices... the garabe truck in the way. I was crying from laughing so hard. Thank goodness it wasn't a 'get-to-the-hospital-in-five-minutes' kind of situation, because we would have had panic.

When we walked Gus into daycare, five of the kids were sitting on the couch, waiting patiently for something. One friend says, "I want to give Gussie a hug and kiss." Gus turns around and has the biggest grin on his face, he's so happy. Gus wanted to get on the couch, so they shifted the kids over. The same friend says, "Gus, you want to sit by me?" and Gus says, "OK!!"

I almost started bawling right there. He's a total little boy now, with friends and language and expressions. We said bye to the crew, and another friend says, "Bye Gussie's Mama and Papa!"

Heart-melting. I love tihs parenting business.

Posted by janna at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)

4 am

I woke up with a start at 3:08 am.

I was having a dream about hospitals and waiting lines. I was with my Mom. I had just given my Mom's license to the doctor.

I'm 31. Having my second child. And I still dream that my Mom has to go with me to the doctor. How sweet is that?

But that's not why I woke up. I was having a contraction. I didn't remember having a contraction for the previous three hours, but maybe I was having little ones in my sleep, thus inspiring my dreams of gynecology and emergency rooms.

I had one but a few minutes after that. THAT woke up my mind and now I can't turn it off. I shouldn't go from zero contractions to having them really close all of a sudden. And then you think of all the scenarios...can the EMT guys actually get their equipment up these steep stairs? Is it really ok to call my neighbor at four in the morning? Will Gus wake up? Can I hold out until daycare?

Then I had another contraction.

I woke John up, asked him to come downstairs with me. I say, let's sleep downstairs... just in case they don't stop.

How the heck can I sleep?

Of course, Gus woke up. It's like he senses something is going on. John is with him now. Sounds like they both might be asleep. I thought I'd sit up and write down contractions all proper. When I was pregnant with Gus, I woke up at four am the morning before I gave birth. This feels a bit different. That time I had peanut butter toast in the event I was in for a long day of laboring.

Now?

I just ate a Klondike bar.

What would YOU do for a Klondike bar?

Now I'm just silly. These are my thoughts:
-Klondike bars are not as big as they were from my childhood memories.
-If I throw up before deliverly, like I did with Gus (Chinese food), I'm going to have a Klondike aversion for a while.
-Can we prolong this a bit so we can get Gus to daycare?
-Why did I put a newborn diaper on Gus' Elmo doll and why am I sitting right next to it? Totally counterproductive to my previous question of prolonging this.

Today is the 13th. This is what John and I call OUR Valentine's Day. Ever since we started dating, we always avoided the crowds on everyone ELSE's Vday and went out to great restaurants and had a great meal in relative quiet. Apparently, everyone is saving up their energy and bucks for the next night.

How much more of a love child could Baby E be to be conceived on our wedding anniversary and born on OUR valentine's day?

Ok, Janna. Is there anything else you'd like to disclose about your private life to the world of the Internet?

How about...I just had another contraction?

Posted by janna at 04:00 AM | Comments (1)

February 12, 2006

No cleaning today

No baby either.

We went to bed last night, thinking it really was the night. It would have been perfect, too. Alison, John's sister, was in town staying with us. Gus could have stayed in bed, no one would have to be called in the middle of the night. Too perfect.

Baby E had another idea.

I don't know. Even though the contractions weren't as stacked today, I still feel things brewing.

I'm going to go read bedtime stories to Gus.

Posted by janna at 07:51 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2006

Letting out the inner nester

I don't know folks.

I cleaned part of the oven today.

I haven't cleaned any part of the oven since we've moved in. I won't tell you that it's almost been three years. You would think I was gross. Gus kept saying, "My turn, I clean." This phase of wanting to clean will pass, no?

I cleaned the refridgerator today. All of it. Drawers out. Rearranged condiments into proper categories. I even had Gus in on the act. We were scrubbing produce drawers in the bathtub.

I cleaned the microwave.

I even dusted the pitcher collection that sits above the sink. That's not even my job. My Mom always does that when she comes to visit (probably because I never do it).

The bathtub. The toilet. The sink.

I vacuumed.

I grocery shopped on Peapod.

I made peanut butter bars.

I just took a shower and spontaneously started bawling with total happiness, half laughing at myself through the tears...

I'm totally having a baby soon.

Tomorrow, the 12th, has always been my guess... ? Maybe I should pack a bag soon.

Posted by janna at 05:37 PM | Comments (1)

February 10, 2006

Nope

Instead of having a baby tonight, we had a family date night.

Shopping!
Eating Indian food!
Walking down the street with Gus in the middle, holding our hands, singing the alphabet and twinkle, twinkle little star!

I said to John, I think this is one of our last family date nights as a family of three...

Posted by janna at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2006

2 cm and counting

There is some progress!
Two weeks ago I was 1 cm dialated, today I'm 2.

At first I was thinking, that's it??

Then John reminded me that I went from 3 cm to 10 and birth in two hours.

Right.

My marching orders are still to go in when I'm having contractions 10 minutes apart. The past three hours I've had them about every 30 minutes. That is as close to a pattern as I've had with this pregnancy. They'll probably stop, though.

It's the ultimate irony... you're on bedrest to prevent early labor. You get off bedrest, expecting that you will quickly go into labor, and you don't.

Posted by janna at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2006

He'll miss these times

gus_012106.jpg

Gus will probably not remember this exact moment, but he will remember moments like these where he was small enough to fit into little spaces...and he'll miss it.

When I was little, my small size was to my advantage in some places, and quite a disadvantage in others.

I could hide inside clothing racks at the clothing stores.
I could fit inside cupboards during hide and seek.
I could go under the bed.
I could sit on the back of the couch.
I could sit in chairs and my feet would dangle.
My uncles could lift me up and carry me.

The biggest disadvantage I remember is not being able to reach the rotary phone on the wall. God help me if I had to actually dial a number.

Regardless, it seems good to remember how it felt to be small. I forget how fascinating certain things can be now that I'm not climbing under beds.

Posted by janna at 11:46 PM | Comments (1)

I'm all belly

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belly_2_020806.jpg

Posted by janna at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)

Grandma & Gus

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Posted by janna at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)

Gus seems to get it

So tonight, as I was getting Gus ready for bed, I thought it best to reiterate, yet again, that a baby will be coming home with us...at some point.

This is not new information. Practically every day for the past two months we've been talking at length about the baby in Mama's belly. It wasn't until tonight that Gus really seemed to express understanding of what was going on.

As he sat on my lap, I said, you know, Mama has a baby in her belly.
Gus nods.
Will you help us with the baby?
Gus nods, then says, "I cook."
You'll cook? That sounds good to me.
Will you help us feed the baby a bottle?
Gus nods.
Gus, Mama will go to the hospital but then she'll be back with the baby.
Hospital, he said...then I lost him to the thrill of couch climbing.

A nod is something, no?

I don't know when Baby E is coming, but there are signs that it needs to be soon:

1. I could feel the outline of baby E's foot today with my hand, as my belly contorted to accomodate his length. I don't have stretch marks from pregnancy (those are from college...ah, the freshman 15), but I swear, if he grows any more, I feel like my entire stomach is just going to have to be one big stretch mark. I've got no more skin to give, little boy!
2. I only have one pair of outside pants that fit me. Hey, why buy more clothes when you're homebound? At least my workmates aren't subjected to the SAME outfit everyday. My family loves me in pajama monkey pants. No one at work needs to know that I'm presenting concepts in pajamas and wearing a geeky headset over unwashed hair, gesticulating wildly to... no one. I am a jewel, John, thanks for loving me in all my glory.
3. I can't stop eating. Seriously. This didn't happen with Gus. This feeling of insatiable hunger has only been with me for three days, but oh-my-god, it must stop. My thighs would like to thank my uterus for being uncooperative and forcing us to stay inside of doors for two months. Without that reprieve, I would have been making random food runs to who-knows-where at all times of the day and night. At least being stuck at home I am forced to be a bit more creative with my eating. It sucks that I'm one of those people who forgets to buy junk food when shopping on Peapod. Last night John saved me. I requested a Snicker's bar...and man, he came through. KING size. He even brought home pastries from work, wrapped in an old design doc, just like a present. I almost cried. I ate them all.
4. I'm ready to stop calling Baby E "Baby E". Come forth, little boy, and let us call you... your name.

Posted by janna at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)

February 07, 2006

Not yet

No baby E yet, but things feel like they're changing. It looks like he's dropped down lower and my back is starting to hurt a lot more... so soonish?

Posted by janna at 09:53 AM | Comments (1)

February 05, 2006

I'm not in labor, I'm just enjoying myself

I feel like I should post something everyday lest someone think I'm delivering Baby E.

I'm not!

In fact... the frequency of contractions this weekend has decreased significantly. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to be induced in March or something.

I haven't let myself go crazy with the cleaning. I'm definitely moving around a lot more, but I'm still not picking up heavy stuff. We'll see what I feel like doing this coming week. If I had any kind of control over the situation, I seriously want to have Baby E during the week, when Gus is at daycare. (maybe just saying that will push the cosmos to grant me my wish)

I feel really good. I'm sleeping fairly well (especially after taking my Tums!), not too tired, and am trying to gobble up as much Gus time as possible before he's no longer an only child. I'm feeling pretty sentimental about that, actually.

Speaking of Gus, can we say talker?

"I like it!"

"That's the sun... wow..."

"I'm a dinosaur" (ok, dinosaur is probably not recognizable to anyone outside of John and I, but we know what he's talking about!)

His bedroom is now officially on our first floor, no longer upstairs with us, and he loves it. He's sleeping in a full-size bed (of which he sleeps on probably 1/8th the surface area) because we didn't have a place to put that bed and, well, we needed to make this room really exciting for him. Now he can go and play in his room while we're in the living room or kitchen. Our hope is that having baby upstairs with us will not disturb Gus while he sleeps, but maybe he'll get used to the crying?

Um, I'm going to have two boys.

!

Unreal.

Posted by janna at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2006

Still gestating

I went to the doctor this morning for my weekly check-up. I was really nervous right before we left, not sure why. It's always that anticipation...what is it going to be this time?

But all is good.

My uterus is measuring an inch smaller than it should be, but after feeling around my belly, my doctor said that it felt like there was plenty of baby in there. Sure feels like it to me! She's not on call this weekend, so I've decided I can't have the baby until at least Monday.

People have been so funny... are you in labor? Why aren't you answering your phone? Where are you? Are you at the hospital? If I'm not on IM for a stretch of time, and get back on, at least five people IM me, asking if I'm ok. It makes me giggle.

I'm having more contractions than usual. My doc said that if I start having contractions 10 minutes apart and am uncomfortable, I should come in. With Gus, it was five minutes... but since I deliver so quickly, she wants me in and on antibiotics for my heart murmur before I give birth, something that didn't happen with Gus.

Baby E is moving a lot, doing all the right things. I can't wait to meet him!

Posted by janna at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)